A player measures the distance between petanque bowls during the semi-final of the "Mondial La Marseillaise de Petanque" in Marseille July 8, 2010. The game is played on hard dirt or gravel most of the time and occasionally on grass surfaces. Petanque originated from the 1900s in Provence, southern France. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier (FRANCE - Tags: SPORT SOCIETY)